>> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" coming to you from dw studios in brussels. good t have y with us. here's what is coming up -- far from home. why an egyptian blogger is seeking refuge in poland. on the edge -- why gibraltar is in new haven for spaniards. after the worst -- while londoners are changing their minds about germans. we first turn to the struggle for democracy in egypt. again, supporters of the opposition are being killed exactly two years after the bloody revolution that toppled dictator hosni mubarak. at the time, egyptia enthusiastically ushered in a new era, but the new president has since left many people deeply disappointed. some egyptians are downright worried beethat under the muslim

brotherhood, the country has moved even further from democracy. one blogger is one of those who openly criticizes the new government, but he had to leave egypt to be able to do so. >> the market square is a popular tourist destination. usually, it is filled with people strolling through, taking pictures of st. mary's church, but not everyone carrying a camera here today is on holiday. kareem is not a taurus. he is a 28-will blog your -- 28- year-old logger -- blogger from egypt. the city offered him refuge for one year. the idea was to give him some breathing room and time to feel safe again. his first impressions involved pigeons like these.

>> it is not like this in egypt. pigeons do not just come and sit on your hand. in egypt, birds are wary of humans. poles are not like the egyptians are. i have never seen anything like this there. >> a polish club is letting him use an apartment in this district in the west of the city. he updates his blog from her thoswho n speak arabic and read what he writes soon begin to understand why he faces problems back home. this afternoon, his message is stark -- islam poses a threat to humanity. especially in the west, a fear of islam should be a normal reaction, just like the fear of falling under the wheels of a moving train. >> that is what i think. i am an atheist. in egypt, everything has become worse under the muslim brotherhood. as far as i'm concerned, there is no moderate isl

osama bin laden was the true face of islam. >> surely the situation in egypt must have improved after the statute -- after the fall of hosni mubarak. or has it? kareem does nothing so. -- does not think so. >> the current situation in egypt will need a lot of time to settle down. i was persecuted under mubarak and was stupid enough to believe that he was the problem and everything would improve when he was overthrown. i should have known better because i was broughtp in a family of islamic extremists. now that the muslim brotherhood is in power, i have come to realize that they are much more dangerous than mubarak ever was. >> there are 1470 marks on the cover of this book, each representing a day karim spent in an egyptian prison -- kareem spent in prison. he was incarcerated for almost

four years with felons. his alleged crime -- blasphemy. the thorities were trying to breahim. the guard first greeted me by saying, "a drug dealer was in the cell before you and we thank him. his evil spirit haunts the sell every night." i said, "i like ghosts. at least i will not be all alone." >> he was also tortured, but he will not talk about it. his parents never visited him. during his trial, his fher called for the death penalty. since he has arrived in poland, he has had no contact with anyone in his family. they have disowned h. al he has left to remember them by our two thumbnail-size photos of his father and one of his brothers. >> i do not like to talk about my family. when i was 8, my father threatened to kill me because i had not prayed. islam teaches that a child is

not obliged to pay, but my father said, if -- "if you do not go to the mosque, i will cut your throat." >> he is suffering and needs help. he cannot find a psychologist who can speak arabic in polan and he cannot speak polish. he often feels alone. egyptians do not trust him and his girlfriend has left him. the differences strike him when he sees a polish woman on the street or on her own free and without fear. >> women are harassed, degraded, and raped in egypt. men grab them and if their clothes off on the street. they do terrible things to women that i'm ashamed to speak of. women in poland do not live in fear. you cannot compare it. it is like comparing the sky to the earth. >> kareem has done everything he can not to let his time in prison break his spirit, but the awful trauma has left its marks. still, the year has also been a

kind of therapy for him. >> all the terrible things that i have experienced, the suffering i experienced in prison has made me stronger. i do not want people who read my blog to think that i'm an extremist, but my readers need to find out the truth about egypt and is lomb. in ste of everything, i am convinced i am on the right path. >> his year in poland is trying to a close. because he cannot go back to egypt, he is trying to obtain political asylum in scandinavia. >> every night, he writes his blog and follows the latest critical news of events in egypt. he believes the situation will stay that way, though he hopes change will come. he is dreaming of the day when he can say, "hi, i'm kareem, a jobless blogger." >> legend has it that atlantis sank more than 11,000 years ago in a single day and night,

possibly after a natural disaster occurred, but not all islands sink under such mysterious circumstances. in the 20th century, for instance, an island in the river danube was submerged on purpose. until then, the island's nickname had been little turkey in europe. in the third part of our series mall worlds" we take a trip down history. >> the danube, one of europe's longest rivers, flows from southern germany through central europe and in the balkans. at the border between romania and serbia, a number of different cultures meet. if they are not swallowed up by water. when a dam was built downstream

re than 40 years ago, this man lost his home. >> when i look at the photo and see where the town an island used to be, it makes me very sad that it has vanished -- when i look at the photo and see where the town and island used to be. >> the island is now under 40 meters of water. gone are centuries a checkered history. memories are all that remain. >> this here was the waiting room at the docks. >> the people who live here came from different cultures -- some from bosnia. some from bulgaria. on this island, we have people from all parts of the former ottoman empire.

that is what our island was like. sometimes the island belonged to austria-hungary, sometimes to the ottoman empire. when the ottomans' left, it remained as a turkish enclave -- when the ottomans left. it became an exotic destination for outings. visitors came from all over romania to buy turkish wheat, tobacco, and schnapps -- to buy turkish suites -- sweets, tobacco and schnapps. >> i fell in love here you can see me playing guitar with my wife. >> that love has survived. along with the turkish culture. >> you just have to say weather you like it sweeter or more bitter -- either -- whether you

like it sweeter or more bitter. >> he is talking about the coffee. what also remains is the turkish language. we accompany a man on a trip to his youth. only about 10 former residents of the island still live on the shore nearby. >> i cling to these memories. we are the last ones who remember the island. it remains deep in our souls all this time. >> ever since the shock that came 45 years ago. >> take a look at this cruelty. i have seen it often enough. >> in 1967, the romanian army destroyed the houses of the 500 island residents. some resettled on the shore of the danube, but most moved to turkey.

explosives and tanks against centuries-old traditions. and all in the name of progress. a dam was built f hyoelectric power and a huge reservoir. romania was hungry for electricity, and a dam that the communist state's ideology of progress -- fit the communist state's ideology of progress. romania and yugoslavia, its neighbor on the other side of the danube, plan what was then the world's largest river hydroelectric plant -- planned what was then the world's largest river hydroelectric plant. >> i'm not against technology and such a power plant in

general, but we were never compensated even though we were promised. >> those promises were never kept. the people of the island should have been resettled on the island below the dam -- should have been, but they were not. today, as an exception because of our tv cameras, the border police take us to that island. he says it does remember -- resemble. >> my mother used to make jam. we have a lot of rose tips on our island, too. >> the dream was it would become just like the old level

even the fortrs sarefly dismaned stone by stone and in part be built here -- rebuilt here. that is until the authorities changed their minds. not far away, we find the cemetery. the graves were dug up and moved. this is the cemetery -- at least what remains of it. he finds a jumble of bones piled in a whole -- hole. it is a macabre sight. >> they did not even go to the trouble to identify which bones belong to which tombstone. these are our ancestors, our heroes. >> piles of bones treated without respect. his mother lies here as well. she had an official burial. she was the first and last

citizen of the island, now buried on the new island. >> in september, it will be 45 years since i bury her here. may god grant her piece -- peace. >> a peace he has yet to find. just memories of the island, its history, its people. >> the relationship between gibraltar and spain is a difficult one. more than 300 years ago, the peninsula between the mediterranean and the atlantic seas was conquered. ever since, gibraltar has bee britisterrory. at is how both the international community and the population of gibraltar see it, but madrid disagrees. if it was up to the spanish government, gibraltar would be part of spain again. in the current economic crisis, the issue has once again become highly topical. >> not even a o'clock in the

morning, and already a traffic jam. spanish workers are on their way to british gibraltar. -- not even 8:00 in the morning. and while -- manuel is one of them. heorks in the british colony. >> i plan to stay '80s -- eight days, and i've been working here seven years. >> they consider gibraltar a blessing, especially now that unemployment rates are so high in spain. but the spanish who do not live near the border are annoyed by the british colony and its famous monkeys. manuel does not understand the resentment towards gibraltar. >> with of gibraltar, the city uld t est -- it was built for gibraltar -- without gibraltar, the city would not exist. >> the rock constitutes the most important economic driving force.

>> about one out of every six jobs was here in gibraltar. the data on which that was based was taken in 2007, so before the financial crisis in 2008 when some people thought spain went into sort of a prolonged recession. >> the cris cane witnessed on the other side of the border. the new hospital was abandoned in mid-construction. once a prosperous city, it is now fighting poverty. city hall is broke and actually owes money to its employees. >> when we started, we had a ruined city hall. we had unpaid bills of 130 million euros, plus 40 million euros for the tax office and social insurance. employees have not been paid for three months. it was a very complicated situatio >> and no solution is in sight.

11,000 people are unemployed. one of them is jose, who has gone back to how his father used to earn a living. >> there's no alternative. i used to work in construction, but that closed down here. and everywhere else, things are very bad. >> the fight for survival has brought creative ideas. just before the border to gibraltar, a group of unemployed people have opened up a parking lots. you pay as much as you want. manuel rodriguez and 40 other families live from it. >> i have no money for a year. before that, i was unemployed for five years. i need this to survive. >> at the end of his day, he brings home 20 euros. his wife does not want to be filmed. she suffers from depression. his son is still in school. his family is not the only one fearing for survival.

>> the entire quarter is in a similar situation. there is no industry here, no work, nothing. it brings you to your knees. >> manuel also despair's at the thought that his son needs a good education for a better future -- despairs at the thought. >> i cannot invest in my son's future. he is in school and needs help, an i cant pay for a pvate tur. >> the rock of gibraltar -- without it, the situation in the border region would be even worse, but the spanish conservative government in madrid still complains. it stopped communicating with the colony. the accusations are well known. gibraltar's wealthy economic boon is only possible because it is a tax haven, a paradise for

gamblers. for the people of gibraltar, it is pure slander. >> any independent review, such asy the international monetary fund, has shown that gibraltar is by most measures an extremely well regulated and well governed jurisdiction. >> gibraltar abolished certain tax benefits under pressure from the european union, before the spanish government, that is not enough, an attitude which makes gibraltar's neighbors angry. >> we cannot be the loser of an anti-gibraltar policy made in madrid. it is not a problem for us. it is an opportunity. >> people traveling from gibraltar to spain are kept waiting for hours by spanish border and customs controls. officially, authorities are trying to put a stop to smuggling, but it is the spanish commuters who suffer. >> every day, we have to wait

for hours. it is a disgrace, and they need to come up with a solution soon. >> manuel marquez and his son are stuck at the border. >> wit some goodwill, they should be able to solve this. then we would not have to wait in line so long. sometimes, we wait four to six hours. this is discrimination. >> spanish conservatives want gibraltar to the spanish again at any cost, but the legend says gibraltar will remain british until the last month he leaves the rock, and the monkeys still seem quite happy -- until the last monkey leaves the rock. >> for a long time, all the british know about germany was

they do not have much sense of humor, we beat germans in the war, and they beat us in football. the british still love telling not he jokes, preferably in the company of german friends who blush with embarrassment, thereby confirming a simple truth -- germans are just not funny. but the stereotypes are now becoming old hat. th british are discovering modern germany, and they like what they see. >> at this fast food restaurant, londoners can get a real taste of germany. >> this is our spicy beef sausage. it is very popular. we also have a brick -- veal brought worst -- veal bratwurst. >> bratwurst, currywurst are growing ever more popular in the

british capital. this man and his british friend opened a snack bar a couple of years ago. >> it looks like good quality meat to me, so very nice. >> it is like being back home. >> great flavor. we come back at lunchtime. yes, it is very good. >> bratwurst and big ben -- these men are not the first to sell german sausage in london, but they seem to be in the right place at the right time. the appetite for german food is growing in london. business is booming. >> we chose the name because at the beginning we decided we did not want to come across as too german. we have been living in london a while, and we like the english sense of humor, so we went with this name to make a little fun of the german pronunciation.

it fit perfectly somehow. >>omeriti still cl germans krauts, so of course, sauerkraut is also a must at the snack bar. >> when someone learns in german, they usually have a story to tell. they say, "i've got this body in the german army, and they have great food over there -- i've got this but thddy in the german army, and they have great food over there." then everyone has a connection of germany or who has been to berlin -- >> everyone has a connection to germany or has been to berlin. >> david bowie also sings about berlin on his most recent album. german products are growing more popular. more and more cars made in germany can be found on the island, and brits are slaking their thirst with german beer. a call the magazine is even dedicating its next issue to the topic of germany -- a colt

magazine -- a cult magazine. the eiting creative atmosphere in the german capital berlin. >> there's a bit of a change happening when you go to germany now. germans are much more at ease with themselves, and i think also for the world, the world needs germany, so germany has a good economic model, a good cultural model, and we are trying to be a bit more encouraging to germany, saying, "it is time to tell the world who you are and show what you are good at." >> it is cross-cultural promotion. >> people laugh about the culture come think they are reserved and cold and rigid and have no personality, but i think they are wrong. >> they are working to open a

second location in east london. they never thought they would have so much success with sausage. >> if people see us as some kind of ambassadors to london, i think that is great. i am certainly having fun. >> always the humor -- that is important. >> things look bright for herman the german, and more and more brith are willing to give them a try. >> that report brings us to the end of this edition of "european journal." until next time, thanks for watching. auf wiedersehen and bye for now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--